Digging for Meaning

tea. 1. sitting in cafe desert rain, sipping on that apricot tea on a lovely afternoon. with the spoon i swerve the warm concoction. the little apricot pieces play waltz with tea leaves in it. its cold, but sun's rays stream in through the wide open windows. there's a bunch of local kids sitting around, being cool, chilling. some one is playing a guitar. i am 'mainland' indian, so not many people are interested in me. But my companion is french, so she receives warm smiles. She is eating her favourite cookie. i must admit, its quite something. But I prefer sipping on some more varieties of teas before devouring those cookies. Someone just came in having trekked the stok-kangri. we shake hands and swap stories. we laugh at our different accents - german, marathi, english, french - and ensuing miscommunication. 2. A 12 km stretch to a remote village in ladakh wasn't really a road. but no one told us. with the trusty pulsar, we trudged on steep slopes, dangerous ...

while traveling. while sitting idle alone. while walking on the road in the middle of night. the crowd of thoughts vanish and what remains are the loose ends of life that need resolved. its beautiful the way thoughts starts untangling the commotion and living behind a crisp reflection of the chiseled self. it requires no efforts from me. they are like strong waves on the beach, which takes away the everyday trivial thoughts (to which we are wedded, beyond our control.), and uplift me into the simple domain of life (as in 'alive'). hence these days i relish the long local train travel, the road back home to Nasik, the walk on city streets after work. The tired body is not a good home for mundane thoughts. As it expels them, the nourishing self-reflecting thoughts swim in and comforts the soul. __________________________________ The excellent trip to Leh has spoiled me. i so thoroughly enjoyed the chance meetings with people, the absolute no planning, being alone at times, that...